Will Joe Thornton return to Sharks or seek Stanley Cup elsewhere?
Joe Thornton has done everything in his Hall of Fame-caliber career except win a Stanley Cup.
It’s again possible that after all of these years with the San Jose Sharks, he’ll decide to go elsewhere to try and realize that dream.
As the NHL prepares for the first day of free agency today, questions loom about what will happen between the Sharks and their own pending unrestricted free agents: Stefan Noesen, Melker Karlsson and Thornton, the franchise icon.
General manager Doug Wilson’s been mum about the status of the three forwards, other than to say that discussions with his pending UFAs were ongoing and decisions would soon have to be made. UFAs are free to sign with any team after 9 a.m. this morning.
“Free agency is a two-way street,” Wilson said after Wednesday’s draft. “We have the
opportunity of signing and talking to somebody. They have the opportunity of going to market. That’s the way the system is supposed to work.”
An email to John Thornton, Joe Thornton’s agent, seeking comment had not been returned as of Thursday afternoon.
Joe Thornton bleeds teal, no question, and he wants to continue to play. He has 1,509 points in 1,636 career NHL regular-season games, including 1,055 points in 1,104 games with San Jose.
The Sharks have been a perennial contender with Thornton since he was acquired by Wilson from Boston in Dec. 2005, with an NHL-leading 1,443 points in 1,160 regular-season games since Dec. 1, 2005.
But Thornton, 41, could decide to assess where the Sharks stand after free agency in the coming days before he makes a decision on where he would like to play next season.
The Sharks addressed two areas of need by acquiring Devan Dubnyk and forward Ryan Donato this week, but would still appear to be a long way from being legitimate Cup contenders.
Per CapFriendly, the Sharks have roughly $8.6 million left in salary cap space with five roster spots available. So unless the Sharks can get creative, a big-name acquisition might be out of reach.
“You’re always open and exploring,” Wilson said. “If we look at players that fit for now and the future, and there’s somebody that fits, we will look into it. I’ve said it several times: Our best players have to be our best players. They have to set the tone.
“But do you look at ways to add to your team? Yes, Whether that’s in a bigger deal or around the fringes, those are the things that we’ll be talking about in the next few days and see what makes sense.”
Thornton’s production dropped from 51 points in 2018-19 to 31 points last season, but some of that had to do with the effectiveness of his linemates.
Thornton, Kevin Labanc and Marcus Sorensen formed an effective trio two years ago but were not able to recreate that same magic last season. Thornton also had other linemates throughout the 2019-20 season of varying experience and skill level.
Thornton did not hide his disappointment in February when the trade deadline came and went and he was not dealt to a Cup-contending team.
“I’ve been hunting this thing down for 22 years, so I wanted another shot at it,” Thornton said Feb. 25, a day after the deadline. “I wanted to get something (for the Sharks) in return. It just didn’t work out. Back to the grind, and that’s how it is.”
Toronto has been rumored as a possible destination for Thornton, and there may be Cup-contending teams that could use a third-line center that remains durable. No course of action appears to be set in stone at the moment.
The Sharks and Thornton have shown patience before. Last season, Thornton and the Sharks did not announce a new contract for 2019-20 until a week before the start of training camp. As a UFA in 2017 and 2018, he signed one-year contracts to stay in San Jose one day after free agency began.
Still, Wilson has shown he is willing to let go of cornerstone players, with Patrick Marleau and Joe Pavelski signing elsewhere as free agents in 2017 and 2019, respectively.
Wilson said he recently spoke with Thornton, who is in Switzerland, and added that “he was shoveling snow. But he said it was warm enough and he didn’t have to wear a shirt.”
The Sharks will have a hole to fill at thirdline center if Thornton is not re-signed, although they may feel Joel Kellman or Dylan Gambrell could fill that role.
Noesen and Karlsson would figure to be players who could easily fit in with the more structured mindset that coach Bob Boughner wants to employ next season, potentially at economical prices.
Noesen, 27, made the league minimum $700,000 last season and would likely not cost that much more to re-sign. After he was claimed on waivers on Dec. 19, he seemed to adjust quickly to his environment and Boughner’s system, and became a fan favorite with his tenacity.
Karlsson, 30, has been a reliable depth forward for the Sharks for years and is one of the team’s leading penalty killers. But the three-year contract he signed in 2017 carried a $2 million annual cap hit. Unless he takes a pay cut and agrees to a shorter term deal for his next contract, his days in San Jose may be over.
Wilson said he also has to factor in how his younger players are progressing, and whether they’re ready to become full-time NHLers. Forwards Noah Gregor, Alexander True, Lean Bergmann and Joachim Blichfeld, and defensemen Jacob Middleton and Nikolai Knyzhov, all got at least a taste of the last season.
Can they make the leap, or do the Sharks have to go shopping, and how much would it cost to re-sign Labanc, and to bring back Thornton, Noesen and Karlsson?